Strange Views
by 2takuya
Summary: Based off Hinamori-Amu-XX's story. AU setting. What if Hinamori Amu and the guardians were different in a strange way? They could do things that no other human could dream of being capable of. These differences show problems with interactions with other children, changing and warping the personalities of the characters we know and love so much. And the one that changed the most?
1. Start of Everything

Well, here's a new story. Got inspiration and ideas from **Hinamori-Amu-XX**, as the original story creater. But as the other story has been discontinued, I decided to try my hand at my own version of the story. Hope you all enjoy!

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Cold. An unbearable cold. Why was everything so cold? Where was the cold coming from?

And then . . . warmth.

**Start of Everything**

**By:**

**2takuya**

Eyes fluttered open, very slowly, revealing a deep ocher gold colored right eye and a bloody red left eye. Confusion settled into the face of the six year old girl. She was viewing a plain white ceiling, accompanied by plain white walls.

"Ah, you're awake?" A soft male voice spoke from the doorway, succeeding in startling the girl into a near heart attack, proven by the spike in an annoying beeping noise.

Recognition slowly slid across the young girls features, though not toward the dirty blonde standing in the doorway.

"You're in a hospital," the man spoke up, confirming her thoughts. "Are you feeling alright?"

To the man's credit, he had only found the girl passed out just outside an alley and had been kind enough to bring her to the hospital. It was only after they arrived and a doctor had examined the young girl had they discovered the scars that marred the young girl's body.

The look the young girl gave the man made it obvious that she didn't know this. But there really is only one way a person can react when asked how they're feeling while they're lying in a hospital bed. And so the girl stared at the man in incredulity, unbelieving what she'd just heard.

The man picked up on this and offered a half smile. "I saw the scars." Was what he offered in response. And, as if to make up for intruding on something personal, he offered his name. "I'm Nikaidou, by the way. Yuu Nikaidou. I found you passed out just outside an alley." The man, Nikaidou, explained.

The girl had stiffened at the mention of her scars, but seemed to slowly relax as the man introduced himself. The girl then realized that the man, Nikaidou, had stopped speaking and was waiting. A few more moments of silence and the girl realized that Nikaidou was waiting on her to introduce herself.

The only thing he received, to his disappointment, was the girl shaking her head.

The rest of the day passed by, Nikaidou seemed determined to get the girl to speak, no matter how long it seemed he would have to wait.

The week passed by much in the same way, and soon the girl was released from the hospital.

What she wasn't expecting was for Nikaidou to be waiting just outside the hospital in a car. Nor was she expecting her legs to carry her to the car and for her body to climb into the car while her mind was trying to stop her.

Nikaidou, however, was very pleased that the girl had climbed into the car, and he proceeded to drive back to his home.

He seemed to know that the girl had nowhere else to go.

And so, not long later, the two of them were going on a tour of the large house, which could honestly pass as a mansion.

The tour ended just outside of the library, where the girl seemed most interested in.

"Do you like to read?" Nikaidou asked curiously, gesturing to the books lining the shelves.

The girl looked at him in confusion, cocking her head slightly to the side as though she wasn't sure.

Nikaidou reflected on what he said and softened. If the girl really was mistreated by her family, then it was unlikely she knew how to read. She may not even know how to speak, which could be why she never introduced herself.

That idea was dashed, however, when a soft voice spoke, almost afraid of speaking. "You're sad." The girl spoke, her right hand covering her ocher gold eye, the bloody red eye peering into his eyes.

If he didn't know any better, Nikaidou would have thought that the young girl could see into his soul, or at least his thoughts.

He quickly shook the thought off, it being absurd, and smiled softly at the young girl. "What makes you think that?" He asked curiously.

The girl was gazing into Nikaidou's eyes, it seemed she didn't realize the tears that were dripping slowly down her face. "Amu can see your Nao. Amu sees a deep blue." Her voice quiet again, almost as though she would get in trouble for speaking.

Nikaidou frowned, confused by her words. He quickly shook that off though as he wiped away her tears. "I'm only sad because I thought about how you must have been treated at home." His words making the girl freeze up. He smiled slightly at that, slowly leading the girl to the bathroom.

"This Nao, you see it with your red eye, right?" Nikaidou asked, slipping into the bathroom. A small yes from the girl, Amu, confirmed his suspicions. "Then here's our solution. If you don't want to see it, then you can cover it up." He said, returning with an eye patch.

Amu gazed at it curiously before Nikaidou tied it so it covered her left eye, succeeding in hiding the eye from the world, and the world form the eye.

The next surprise that came was when Nikaidou offered to let Amu live in the mansion of a house. And although Amu was reluctant, Nikaidou convinced her to stay. Despite having a six year old living in his house, Nikaidou was quick to notice it remained quiet. Though he decided if Amu wanted to stay quiet he would let her.

He did notice, Amu would sometimes run into things on her left side, which he found hysterical, much to Amu's chagrin, which became a good way for the two to quietly and slowly grow closer.

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Please be sure to Read and Review, reviews are important because without them I can't make this story the best it has the capability of being. That and I'll end up running out of ideas for the story, and then it will be another dropped one, making all the readers sad . . .


	2. Won't You Laugh?

Hey, back with another chapter. I'm hoping that I get more viewers for this story, because I think once I get done with the character introductions things will run a lot smoother. But, sadly, character introductions are necessary. Otherwise you won't understand things later on. Or something like that.

Anyways, last chapter I told you guys the idea and original story came from **Hinamori-Amu-XX** but I forgot to mention that **I don't own Shugo Chara or any of the characters from it!** So yeah, just thought I'd let you know.

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**Won't You Laugh?**

**By:**

**2takuya**

It's been a year since the man named Nikaidou took me in. I'm not sure whether the year went by quickly or slowly. I guess, compared to other years I've lived, this last year went by the quickest.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Over the year I'd grown accustomed to running to the front door in greeting, a smile shining in my ocher gold eye even though one wasn't on the rest of my face. Today wasn't any different, until I saw someone else walking in the door behind Nikaidou.

My guard went up immediately. I hadn't gotten close to anyone besides Nikaidou, and I wasn't really ready to start now.

Nikaidou smiled when he saw me, and gestured towards me as he spoke to the young girl. "Rima, I'd like you to meet Amu. You guys have quite a bit in common."

I looked at the girl, Rima, skeptically, as a voice spoke up inside my head. _"So much in common by the time I die. I doubt she's two people."_ I winced at the voice as the girl eyed me.

"There can't be anything the same with us," Rima said, her voice sounding almost magical in the way it was soft yet powerful at the same time.

Nikaidou smiled, though he glanced worriedly to me. "Well, you can make a person laugh whenever you want, right?" He asked bluntly, causing Rima to look appalled and glance over at me.

I only offered a small smile that hardly reached my eyes. _"Oh, good job. Way to creep her out. You've known her how many seconds?"_

"Shut up," I mumbled quietly, my mind focusing on the girl before me. Said girl was currently staring at me like I was a nut job, however, though I wasn't sure why.

Nikaidou answered my internal question, however. "Amu, perhaps speaking to Ami should be saved for when you know each other better."

The words pretty much froze me to the spot, my heart racing as my brain struggled to gain oxygen.

I'd done it again. I'd spoken to Ami. That was the reason I didn't speak much. Ami was my twin, but for some reason her mind and mine shared one body. And something like that was hard to explain to parents who could only hear one end of the conversation. To everyone else, I was talking to myself.

"What's wrong with her?" Rima's soft voice asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

Nikaidou was watching me with concern, while Rima was giving me a strange look. You know, that look reserved for people taking refuge in the realm of the crazy. You know the look, whether you gave it or received it. It's not nice getting that look, especially when a year was spent trying to get rid of the emotional scars left behind of growing up abused. Of course, at age 7, it was kind of hard to change my views.

I did try, really, but whenever I closed my eyes all I could see were my parents yelling something while I was being whipped.

And of course, Rima being a stranger and giving me that look, I immediately feared that she would hurt me. There's no way she wanted me to talk to myself. Isn't that why Nikaidou had me stay home alone every day? It only made sense, he was ashamed of me.

Despite that, I found myself glued to the spot. Like a deer caught in the headlights, except my golden eye showed no emotion at the moment.

It had seemed like an eternity since Rima had spoken before there was a response. It only really had been a few moments. "There's nothing wrong, nothing at all," came Nikaidou's voice, dragging me back to the present.

Rima gave Nikaidou an incredulous look while I put up a guarded expression.

Nikaidou let out an exasperated sigh as he took in the situation. "How about we move to the library? I don't think we should continue conversation out here in the foyer." He suggested, slipping off his shoes and leaving them by the front door.

Rima hesitated before doing the same and following after Nikaidou as he headed towards the library. I followed slowly after.

Rima's reaction to the library was unexpected. She seemed entranced by all the books, frozen on the spot before she took off running and investigating all the books.

"Are these all yours?" She asked excitedly, pulling a book off the shelf. "Can I read them?"

Nikaidou seemed surprised for a moment before he could even manage a response. "You can read?" He asked, his voice small.

Rima stopped a moment before giving Nikaidou a dubious look. "Of course I can, can't you?"

The glance in my direction confirmed his thought process. He had tried to teach me to read, though it wasn't easy since I didn't really voice what I saw on the page.

Rima followed his glance though and let out a laugh. "You mean she can't read? How old is she?"

My gaze hardened, my eye looking towards the books on the shelves as Nikaidou responded.

"Amu isn't the most vocal person, so teaching her to read was a pretty impossible task." Nikaidou said, actually sounding pretty smart.

"Really? Is she stupid or something?" Cause she looks about my age, and I'm seven. And I learned to read when I was five." Rima responded, ending in what sounded like a bragging voice.

She must have seen the look on my face or something, the glare paired with a frown.

I'm not exactly sure what really happened. Rima just stared at me really hard and suddenly I was laughing.

It wasn't even a chuckle; I could handle something like that slipping out. I was clutching my stomach in a laughing fit I didn't seem to have any control over. I didn't stop until Nikaidou reprimanded Rima. And then, as soon as I stopped laughing, as quickly as the fit had started, I took off running.

I left the library as quickly as I could. You'd respond the same way, wouldn't you? If you suddenly started laughing like that, and it was supposedly because a stranger gave you a look and willed you to.

Well, even if you wouldn't, I would. I'd spent years hiding my emotions from other people, and just with a look this girl had rendered me to a laughing fit. I felt uncomfortable with that revelation.

I ended up back in my room. I guess even now I thought a closed door could get rid of all my problems. That and pulling the covers over my head, which is the next thing I did upon entering my room.

I proceeded to curl up into a ball and pretend that nothing had happened. Of course, that never solves your problems. Proven by the sound of the door slowly sliding open. I guess closed doors don't keep your problems at bay, either.

"Amu?" A soft voice asked, surprising me. I expected it to be Nikaidou, as it was every time I tried to seclude myself.

Instead, the voice belonged to Rima. And she slowly approached my bed before sitting lightly on the edge.

I wasn't sure why she had followed me. Judging from the silence, I figured she wasn't sure why either.

"Nikaidou said to go after you." She said quietly, in explanation of why she was there. "He said you haven't been near kids your own age before."

I could tell she was watching me for confirmation, so I gave her a meek nod.

She let out a quiet sigh, "He told me you didn't talk much, he wasn't kidding."

I frowned at that, though she couldn't see it, I was facing the wall. What was Nikaidou thinking? He was telling strangers about me? Then I realized there was no reason for him to keep quiet about me. He was probably trying to find a good place for me to live. That thought made me a bit sad.

"He's hoping we'll get along," Rima said quietly, after sitting in silence for a few moments. "He said I'd be living here, with you guys. He said he hopes that you'll open up more if you get to know someone your own age."

And I realized something at that moment. The sudden realization caused me to shoot up so I was looking her in the eyes. The shock on her face was lost upon me as my attention focused on the spark of color in her right eye. My eye patch had fallen off when I had shot up.

The room was silent as I tried to understand the color swirling in her eye. After a while a word formed on my lips, from what seemed like nowhere.

"Jealous," I murmured quietly, my voice almost a whisper.

The look on her face changed from one of surprise and curiosity to blank. The purple colors swirling in her eye changed to a dark reddish shade.

"Anger," I commented, just as quickly as the color changed. My voice was louder as I grew a little more confident. I'd seen this color many times in my own parent's eyes, and I recognized what emotion had to be behind it.

Her anger quickly faded, the reddish color becoming more of a mix, making what seemed to be a murky brownish.

Everything else in the room seemed to disappear as I struggled to understand the strange combinations of colors that mixed together all in her right eye.

"_Looks strange, doesn't it?" _Ami's voice asked, voicing a thought that had already crossed my mind before.

"Mm, it's strange." I said quietly, agreeing with her.

"What's strange?" Rima asked quietly, giving me a strange look again.

"Your color." I replied quietly, no hesitation in my voice. I reached out subconsciously, running a thumb lightly under her eye, the rest of my hand resting on her cheek. "You were full of a purple full of jealousy before, but that quickly changed to the reddish hues of anger." I informed her, my voice quiet but strong. It was the longest I'd spoken in a while, but I was confident in what I was explaining. "But now it's different," I mumbled, my voice dying down as I finished. I wasn't sure what the color meant, and I wasn't happy about that.

"What do you mean?" Rima asked softly, the color in her eye slowly becoming less of a jumble of colors, slowly approaching a fiery orange.

"Now it's curiosity," I mumbled, though the uncertainty of the color before still filled me. It must have shown on my face, because Rima took my hand from her face and held it in her own, offering a small smile.

"It was muddy, like a mix of a bunch of other colors. Like your emotions were clouded or something. It didn't really make any sense to me, and I couldn't put a name to it." I mumbled, sounding a bit frustrated at the end of my speech.

Rima remained quiet for what seemed like forever. Maybe she realized how weird I really was and was deciding what to do. I hope she didn't hit me or yell. I don't know if I could deal with that any more. But if she just ignored me that would hurt too.

I guess she made a decision at some point while I was engaged in my thoughts. As soon as I actually panicked and started pulling my hand away Rima tightened her grip.

Naturally, I panicked even more, everything around me disappearing as my eyes squeezed shut.

I knew what was coming, she was tightening her grip to make sure I wouldn't run away before she hit me. My senses were on high alert, my body clenched in anticipation for the pain I knew was soon to come.

But what came next would leave me speechless, if I actually spoke. My eyes were tightly shut and my mind on high alert when I felt a pair of arms encircle around me. Upon contact my muscles stiffened, waiting for the pain. But slowly I began to relax, a soothing feeling coming from my head. It took me a moment to realize that Rima was sliding her hand through my hair, somehow helping to relax me.

It was around that time that I felt a damp warmth trickling down my cheeks. It took a few moments for my brain to recognize that sensation as tears.

Then I picked up on words, the voice cracking and quiet. I hardly recognized, but knew it was my own. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. Please don't be mad." I was whimpering over and over again.

"I'm sorry," Rima's soft voice whispered into my ear, breaking me of the trance I had seemed to enter. "I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?"

I wasn't sure what to say. Normally I'd respond quickly with a small nod, but I found it difficult to do this time. It was probably because normally I didn't have tears running down my face. Normally I was very stoic and was only asked because Nikaidou worried about me.

And so instead I shivered and struggled to pull away from her hug. It was only when Rima pulled me closer instead that I realized I hadn't shivered. My body had convulsed into a horrible shaking fit, I probably would have fallen over if Rima had let me go.

Rima had apparently noticed this, and was being surprisingly calm about the whole situation. She even continued stroking my hair, as she quickly found it was the only thing that really succeeding in calming me, even a little bit.

Nikaidou slipped into the room moments later, though he stayed just in the doorway. Rima didn't even seem to notice his presence, she was so focused on trying to get my shakes and whimpers to subside.

"Ah, you're awake?" His soft voice asked, startling Rima. For some reason I wasn't surprised, I just found the tone and words familiar. My shaking had even calmed down a little, my whimpers completely gone now, just small hitches of air. "You're not in a hospital," now he was just stating the ridiculously obvious, and Rima gave him a glare, she obviously thought he was being an idiot. And yet again, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd heard something similar before. "Are you feeling alright?"

And then, as the last shakes died down, it all clicked. Rima seemed even more confused than before, but I remembered.

So, in a small voice, my chin resting on Rima's shoulder, her arms still wrapped around me, I responded. "You saw the scars."

And the smile that lit up his face left me speechless. I couldn't remember the last time someone had directed a smile like that in my direction.

It seemed Rima hadn't seen smiles like that in some time either, we both were shocked senseless.

Regardless, Nikaidou seemed exuberant that I recalled our first encounter. He seemed keen on continuing, much to my embarrassment. "I found you passed out just outside an alley."

Just because Rima had helped calm me down, didn't mean I wanted her to know everything about me. I'd lived with Nikaidou for a year and I didn't want him knowing. I just wanted to live like it had never happened, even though as soon as I closed my eyes it was all too real.

And so once again Nikaidou was denied the answers he was searching for. But I knew he would continue the search regardless.

Rima had been left to piece together what little information she had. I'm not sure what conclusion she came up with, she didn't share, but I felt her fingers sliding through my hair again, somehow she managed to lull me to sleep.

Before I passed though, my last thought was something along the lines of, _this might work._

Needless to say, after that encounter I did my best to avoid Rima. I didn't like the fact that I had been so emotional in front of her. I also didn't like that she could make me laugh whenever she wanted to.

And yet, for some reason, despite how hard I struggled to stay away from her, she tried just as hard to get closer to me. I didn't understand why, she even seemed pretty protective over me. She wasn't happy with anything that made me panic, even though nothing had sent me over the edge like our first meeting. At least not yet.

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Hope that was good enough for you. I spent majority of school today writing that. Had a big ink spot on my pinky, cause I'm a lefty, and everything I write smears across my page. All my notebooks look lovely because of that. My handwriting is nice, just there's too many smudges.

Anyways, please make sure to REVIEW! I need you guys to let me know what you think, things I could improve upon, and suggestions for something that might make an interesting plot twist!


	3. More Than Meets the Eye

Ok, so I'm back with another chapter, once again, only some original ideas belong to me, the characters belong to Shugo Chara, and the story idea originally belongs to Hinamori-Amu-XX. I just added my own twists and backgrounds to the characters. I also may have changed their personalities a bit.

And for the record, I didn't realize the title was totally from Transformers until after I decided on the title. So, I guess, I don't own Transformers, either! Enjoy the story everyone!

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**More Than Meets the Eye**

**By:**

**2takuya**

It's been a month since Rima moved in with Nikaidou and I. After spending a week working hard to avoid her I finally gave up.

Now we are nearly inseparable. There's not a whole lot to do inside the house, no matter how big it is, so a lot of time is spent inside the library.

Honestly the library is my favorite place in the house. It just seems so calm and peaceful. But the more time I spend in there the more I'm reminded of my inability to read.

Rima and I are in the library right now. She's curled up in the chair while I'm on my back on the couch. Rima's reading a book out loud, this one's about a female pirate who has to pretend to be a guy. Rima read out loud a lot, ever since I'd stopped avoiding her. I still didn't talk, though Rima had quickly gotten over that, but if I did I would tell her not to read aloud just for me.

Because I know that's why she reads aloud. She knows I can't read and so she reads the stories to me.

I must have dosed off, because what seemed like a few minutes into the book Rima was shaking me awake.

"Amu, wake up." Rima said quietly, her voice soft, almost angel like. "Nikaidou's back." I must have dozed off longer than I realized.

I was just sitting up and stretching when Rima spoke again, causing me to freeze. "He brought two people back with him."

Nikaidou brought two people home? Does that mean Rima's finally getting adopted? I didn't want Rima to leave, the house was too big and empty without her.

I didn't get much longer to dwell on those thoughts though because Nikaidou entered the room soon after Rima informed me he was back.

I'm not sure who I surprised more, myself or Rima, when I gripped her hand. Even though I knew Rima would be better off in an actual household I still didn't want her to leave. What surprised me further was when Rima squeezed my hand back in reassurance.

Nikaidou had an eyebrow arched at our interaction, but didn't make any comments on it.

"I brought home a couple people I'd like you to meet." He said softly, still standing at the door. "Make sure to be nice, they're around your age and haven't had the easiest life. So they might be a little shy."

I froze in surprise. They're around our age? But if they were here for Rima, they'd have to be older, right?

My hand relaxed, though Rima continued to keep our hands connected. I hadn't realized I'd spoken until Nikaidou and Rima gave me a surprised look. I'd said something about Rima not getting taken away.

"You thought Rima was getting adopted?" Nikaidou asked quietly, sounding like he was slightly offended by the thought.

Rima was watching me as well, waiting for my response. I simply nodded, avoiding their eyes.

In response I felt arms wind around me and a sigh of frustration breathe in my ear.

"I'm not leaving, idiot. Your kind of stuck with me now, whether you like me or not." She spoke, her voice soft. She was trying to comfort me, which was a new experience. I kind of liked it.

Nikaidou waited for a moment at the door, quiet. When it seemed like the moment was over Nikaidou opened the library door, ushering a couple of kids down the hall and inside the library.

Rima had settled back on the couch to my left, an arm around my shoulders as the two kids walked in.

As soon as they entered the room I was on alert, my muscles stiff. Rima, with her arm around me, obviously noticed.

The two kids; one a male with blonde hair and amber eyes, the other a girl with brown hair and matching eyes; seemed to be on alert as well.

The boy went and sat himself in the chair Rima had previously been using. The girl came over and sat next to me on the couch, only increasing my nervousness. Nikaidou took the other chair, finally leaving his post at the door.

The room remained quiet for a while, it seemed like no one wanted to break the silence.

At least until the girl said, "Yaya wants to know why you wear an eye patch."

The blonde looked at the girl, appalled. "Yaya, don't be so rude!"

"But Tada-chi, Yaya wants to know." The girl, Yaya, whined to the boy, Tada-chi. I'll have to ask for his real name later.

Nikaidou chucked at their antics, causing the tense air to clear up. "Now, now, there's no need to worry about that. Tadase, if Amu doesn't want to answer, she'll let Yaya know." So his name was Tadase. Wait, what did Nikaidou just say?

Tadase nodded slightly, looking away in embarrassment while Yaya turned to me with a hopeful look.

She looked about a year or so younger than I was, and she looked so hopeful. I didn't really like to talk about things like that, but I was a stickler for peer pressure. I didn't like to disappoint other people, and it was only a matter of time before I broke under that gaze.

I must have been lost in my own thoughts though, staring at Yaya, because Rima was gently shaking my shoulder.

Everyone seemed tense again, Nikaidou and Rima waiting to see if I'd respond, Tadase and Yaya more out of anticipation than anything else.

For some reason Yaya seemed a bit distraught. Maybe it was because I hadn't said anything yet.

I gave Nikaidou a questioning glance, to which he gave me a nod and a smile. What the heck was that supposed to mean? How was that supposed to be helpful in any way?

"Sorry, but Amy doesn't talk very much." Rima said quietly, finally breaking the eerie silence that had been building in the room.

I stiffened as Tadase and Yaya's gazes turned on me. Tadase looked as though he were wallowing in pity. Yaya just looked more curious than before.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. We didn't realize you couldn't speak." Tadase said quietly, offering a sincere apology.

I wisely chose to remain quiet, and surprisingly Nikaidou and Rima didn't say anything to correct him. I mean, there was a big difference between _couldn't _and _wouldn't. _But oh well, he's the one who assumed things.

So instead, conversation continued on. Rima asked why they were there, oh so subtly.

"So why'd you guys come here with Nikaidou? I'm assuming you got no homes to go back to." Tadase stiffened at her question while Yaya smiled sadly. But she answered all the same, surprising me.

"Yaya's parents got tired of Yaya turning into a younger kid all the time. Tada-chi's parents had enough of him having conversations with stuffed animals. Since Yaya and Tada-chi are good friends, we got together after getting kicked out of home. We've only been on the streets for a week and Nikaidou found us, and here we are." She explained, staring at her hands through the entire speech.

Rima and I stared at Yaya in utter disbelief. She'd said Tadase talked to stuffed animals, right? I'm pretty sure that's what I heard.

Nikaidou didn't seem surprised in the least; I guess he already knew all that.

"It was a relief to find people who aren't exactly normal that weren't passed out in an alley." He said, giving me a pointed look.

To which my response was a deadly glare, not all that effective on a seven year olds face, and a muttered "_Outside_ an alley." Making sure to emphasize the 'outside' part.

Nikaidou just waved a hand, as if it made no difference to him, while Tadase and Yaya just gave me the strangest look I'd ever seen in my life. Then again, I'd never seen someone's face after they heard me speak when they thought I was mute.

"She spoke! It's a miracle!" Yaya shouted out, suddenly glomping on me out of joy.

To which my response was to try and shove her away, to no effect. In fact, the harder I struggled again her hugs, the tighter the hug became.

"Let me go." I muttered quietly, knowing it was probably better to hold still and let her continue glomping until she was satisfied. Despite realizing this, my body reacted of its own accord and was continuing to struggle and try to push her away.

Rima looked a bit unsure to my left. It seemed like her and Nikaidou were plotting something, from the glances that they were giving each other.

Yaya seemed oblivious to everything else though, pulling away enough to look me in the eye. "Hey, can Yaya see what your eye looks like? Yaya wants to know why its hiding."

I stiffened again at her request, and she seemed to take my silence and sudden stillness as me composing myself. With that thinking, she pulled the eye patch off my left eye, careful not to break the patch.

My eyes widened in shock as I heard gasps from around the room. Never had someone been so pushy with me. Well, except for my parents, but the pushiness was obviously different in the two cases.

Tadase and Yaya's eyes were glued to my left eye, making the colors easier to see. Nikaidou and Rima seemed on high alert. If there was any time to be careful around these strangers, now would be the best. Just because they had strange powers of their own didn't mean they'd be accepting of me or Rima.

These thoughts were floating in the back of my head though as I struggled to decipher the mix of emotions coming from Yaya. Tadase had been easy to figure out, I'd seen the yellow hue of fear before in my own parents eyes. But Yaya's eyes were different. Her color was almost white, with a hint of pink showing up in them. I'd never seen that in someone's colors.

"What do you see?" Rima asked in a quiet voice, though everyone heard her regardless.

I motioned towards Tadase, knowing what she meant. "Fear," I answered, my voice cracking only slightly. My attention was still focused on Yaya however, who seemed thrilled that I was paying her so much attention.

Tadase seemed uncertain and confused. I didn't blame him though, I would be if I were in his shoes.

"Amu?" Nikaidou asked, hardly succeeding at gaining my attention. "Is there something wrong?"

"_Another strange one." _Ami spoke, sounding annoyed.

"But we figured it out last time," I muttered quietly, more to myself and Amie than anyone else.

I reached out, out of habit. I guess I thought if I could get closer to the color I could figure it out. This time, it wasn't such a good idea. Tadase was across the room in a flash, knocking my hand away before it could touch Yaya.

The contact broke my attention and I looked at Tadase. I immediately saw the red hues forming from the yellow and I flinched back out of habit. All I could focus on was the color at this point, the one that still haunted my dreams of pain.

Rima and Nikaidou were standing now too. I'm not sure when they moved. I only noticed because Rima was lightly pulling me into a hug, her hand sliding through my hair.

"Tadase, perhaps you should take a moment to calm down." Nikaidou suggested coolly.

My attention to their conversation disappeared, my mind focusing on the colors. Tadase's eyes had been so much like _his _eyes. My _father_. I had done my best not to think about him over the year, it was much easier to think about the pain from my mother. But seeing eyes so similar had brought all the memories to the front. The pain, the hunger, the darkness, the silence.

I'm not sure how long I stood there lost in my thoughts. Rima hugging me close, sliding her small fingers through my soft hair.

What broke me out of my thoughts were small arms wrapping around me from behind, a small voice whispering in my ear.

"Amu-tan, don't cry. Yaya doesn't want to see Amu-tan cry," the owner of the voice sounding a bit teary as well.

And that was when I realized I really was crying, right into Rima's shoulder, whose shirt was now wet from my tears. "Sorry. I'm so sorry," I whispered quietly, beginning to pull away and out of her warm embrace. I hated how I would so easily break down like that. The last time I had crumbled like this was a month ago with Rima. Now Tadase and Yaya were seeing it too.

Rima, however, didn't let me pull away. Instead she pulled me into a tighter hug. I was about to protest when she silenced me, "it's fine," she said quietly, a sad smile on her face. She was stroking my hair again, and all I could think about was how much she put up with from me. I didn't understand how she could stand me crying like a big baby.

"Why? Why do you put up with me?" I asked quietly, surprising everyone else in the room. Rima just gave a more sincere smile in response.

"My parents were sad all the time, though I'm not sure what it was about." Rima said quietly, her eyes glazing in thought. "They never let me help, whatever their problem was, and eventually they killed themselves, saying they were 'drowning in sadness'."

The room remained silent for a moment; no one was expecting something like that. As a result, no one seemed sure what to say, and no one wanted to be the one to speak first.

"That's why. Despite how you refuse to open up to me and are silent all the time, I don't want that happening to you." Rima said softly, pulling me closer to her, my head resting on her shoulder. "Although, I don't think that this is good for you. Your bottling up your feelings and memories, and breaking down like this when something reminds you of your past."

I knew she was right. She knew I knew she was right. She was stroking my hair and I was surprisingly calm. It was only a matter of moments and a little pushing to get me to open up and spill everything.

"What do you want to know?" I finally asked in a quiet voice. At least this way I wouldn't say anything that they weren't curious about. If they didn't ask, I didn't need to say.

Surprisingly, Yaya spoke up first. "Yaya wants to know Amu-tan's name!"

I only frowned in confusion, though she couldn't see it because my face was still nestled in Rima's shoulder. It was surprisingly comfortable. "But you already know it. It's Amy." I responded, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. It kinda was, too.

That didn't seem to be the answer she wanted though. She pulled me away from Rima, turning me so I was facing her. The pout on Yaya's face was almost hysterical. "No, Yaya wants to know Amy-tan's last name, too."

And then she watched me, waiting for an answer. An answer she didn't receive.

Why was I answering their questions? I didn't want them to know. I didn't even like thinking about it myself. Once they realized how disgraceful I was, they'd throw me away too. But I didn't want that. I didn't want them to think differently of me.

I felt myself being pulled back, onto Rima's lap on the couch. Her back was against the armrest, her legs stretched out over the seat. My back was facing the back of the couch and she had pulled my head over so that it was resting on her shoulder, her fingers sliding through my hair again.

That's right! Rima wanted me to open up to her. She didn't want me to be sad. That's what mattered right now, I didn't want Rima to worry. "Hinamori Amu." I said quietly, and everyone seemed surprised that I'd answered at all.

The smug look that Rima sent Nikaidou didn't go unnoticed, but I didn't say anything about it. For now.

Yaya was ecstatic that I'd given her an answer. It was like she knew about the year I'd spent avoiding Nikaidou's questions.

"What exactly is Ami?" Nikaidou asked, orange curiosity sparking in his eyes.

I froze in surprise. I forgot he knew about Ami. I knew Tadase and Yaya didn't know who she was. But Rima had heard me talk to her before. Or rather, talk to myself.

"My twin," was my quick and quiet reply. It was the truth, and wouldn't raise suspicions from Tadase and Yaya.

Rima had a small frown on her face, her fingers frozen in my hair. "She's your twin?" To which I confirmed with a nod. "But she doesn't have a body, does she?"

"She does," I replied, much to Nikaidou's confusion as well. "Mine."

And now Rima and Nikaidou understood, but Tadase and Yaya were confused.

"Her body is yours?" Tadase asked with a frown on his face. "What does that mean?"

"It means her mind is in my body," I mumbled quietly, shifting uncomfortably. Doubt was welling up inside me, maybe telling them all this was a bad idea. What if they started finding me weird again, and were afraid I'd make them look bad. That feeling quickly disappeared though, and it took me a few moments to figure out why. Then I felt Rima's hands sliding through my hair again. She was surprisingly good at getting me to relax, and soon my eyes slid closed as my entire body nearly collapsed against Rima. I had been so stiff the entire time.

She definitely noticed, a small laugh escaping her lips. "Are you comfortable?"

I nodded slightly, a small smile on my lips. "Mm," I mumbled in reply, not really bothering with real words. I didn't realize I'd be able to relax this well with someone, normally I was very defensive around other people, and I'd only known Rima a month.

"What happened? Before I found you in the alley?" Nikaidou asked quietly.

I knew it had only been a matter of time until this question came up. And surprisingly I didn't stiffen right away. Rima was doing great at keeping me calm. Well, at least until my mind flashed back to that wintery day.

_The day had started out surprisingly quiet compared to every other morning. I suppose that was because my parents had been up late last night with me. I had read their emotions again and they hadn't been pleased. At the end of the late night they had locked me inside the attic, battered and bruised. _

_Despite the morning being quiet, the afternoon was louder. From downstairs at least, I guess they'd forgotten about me again, I hadn't gotten breakfast or lunch._

_Not that I wasn't surprised, it'd happened before. But that didn't mean I wasn't hungry. I hadn't had dinner the night before, either._

_So the day went by slowly. By the end of the day I was laying on the floor, my stomach cramping up as though it was trying to slowly consume itself. I surprised myself by getting excited when the door opened. Maybe they'd finally remembered me and were coming to give me a bit of food._

_My father was standing there, and not saying a word he motioned for me to follow him._

_He led me to the front room, forcing me onto the couch. Everything after that was a blur, but I knew what had happened, even if not in detail. The next thing I fully remembered was opening my eyes to see a plain white ceiling, accompanied by plain white walls._

The room was quiet; everyone was waiting to hear my answer. They also seemed worried, and that's when I realized my chest was burning. It took a moment longer to figure out the problem. My entire body was wracking violently, my breath hitching and tears streaming down my face. I was trying my hardest not to burst out sobbing, and it only led to the pain in my chest to intensify.

Rima was stroking my hair, struggling to calm me down in the only way she knew how. Her other hand had a firm grip on my shoulder; she was struggling to remain calm.

None of them understood why I was panicking, and they wouldn't understand unless I told them. I knew Rima wanted to know more than anything; she'd surprised me plenty with how much she really seemed to care.

So, despite my mind screaming at me not to say anything, maybe that was Amy, I built up my courage to tell them the truth. Wrapped in Rima's warm and comforting grasp made it easier. I hadn't realized how much I relied on her already. She hadn't stopped stroking my hair, and that helped me relax enough to blurt out the truth in a quaking and small voice.

"I was raped."

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**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. It's longer than my others, and I hope the detail provided made sense and that it was sensory enough for you all. You must have loved the ending, right? Some of you probably saw that coming on your own, but I thought it was an important milestone for Amu to begin opening up to the others. Hope to see you back in the next chapter, please review and leave ideas for me, too! I ran out of room in my notebook, which made me kind of sad, so I might take a bit of time to rewrite what I have in a new notebook, one that's not been used.**


	4. Partial Truth

**Let's see, anything important to announce. Well, there's obviously the, "Thanks for the wonderful reviews everyone!" Though it seems like that line is overused, I really do mean it. Your reviews mean a lot, though I would appreciate if someone would be willing to critic my work a bit, let me know things I could do to make it better. Also, the occasional plot suggestion never hurt. Let me know where you want to see the story heading. I can usually try and find a way to fit that into my story, and the sooner you ask, the easier for me. Cause I write these out before I go and type them, so I'm usually working a chapter ahead of the one I post online.**

**But anyways, please enjoy the story! Most of you probably ignored the first paragraph so it's all good!**

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**Partial Truth**

**By:**

**2takuya**

The room remained silent, save for my hitching breath. I couldn't believe I'd said it. Wait, maybe I didn't really say it, maybe I just thought it. The looks on everyone's faces, however, told me otherwise.

Tadase looked like he was going to be sick. Yaya looked like she was in shock. Nikaidou looked like he might pass out. I couldn't see Rima's face, as my head was against her shoulder, but judging by the fingers that were still in my hair, unmoving, she was shocked too.

I sat as quietly as I could, my breathing in gasps, struggling in vein not to begin sobbing. The room was too quiet for my liking. What were they thinking about? They must think I'm disgusting, I am dirty after all. Rima's just too shocked to push me away right now, that's all. It didn't really want to know what they were feeling though; anger, disgust, pity; so my eyes were glued to the floor.

My thoughts and fears were getting the best of me, the silence in the room only making things worse. I could feel the tremors building stronger, like an earthquake had struck the inside of my body. I was still in Rima's lap, and knew if I stayed there Rima would feel me shaking again. So, somehow, I managed to pull myself to my feet, out of her arms.

My movement seemed to snap everyone out of their own thoughts, though no one seemed sure of what to say. I hated the even more, when someone finds out a horrible past and is unsure how to act around the person. Sometimes yelling was better; at least they were willing to talk to you. They weren't afraid that you were fragile as glass.

My eyes were still on the floor, so I didn't know how they were feeling, though I could pretty much guess.

I thought they'd find me disgusting now; after all, I was defiled. They hadn't known, so they were probably angry with me, just like -.

Warm arms wrapped around me, making me jump in surprise.

"Geez, you looked like you were jumping to conclusions again." Rima said quietly, petting my hair comfortingly. I couldn't help it, I relaxed immediately, though I was still shivering. Rima let out a quiet laugh, shifting so my head was against her shoulder again. How come I always ended up leaning against her like this? "Amu, you're just like a cat."

I couldn't help it; I pulled away from Rima, embarrassed. That analogy was eerily close to my behavior. Everyone seemed to find that amusing, and laughter lifted the depressing mood. My cheeks felt like they were on fire.

"Amu-tan's got a fever!" Yaya cried out in surprise, shuffling over to place a palm on my forehead. "Hm, Amu-tan doesn't feel warm though."

Everyone laughed again and I felt my cheeks heat up even more. I wonder why my face was so warm, should I be worried?

Rima chuckled in amusement; I saw a spark of mischief flash in her eye. For future reference, mischief looks a lot like lightening. "Hm, it looks to me like Amu is blushing." Rima said, her voice teasing.

My response seemed to be unexpected. The warmth on my face disappeared, lost to the confusion filling me. "Blush?" I asked quietly, my eyebrows drawn together.

I watched as everyone shared a glance. It was like silent communication, I'd have to ask how they did that later. They seemed to reach some sort of agreement, whatever they were communicating about.

Nikaidou was the one to voice their thoughts, "Amu, do you know what a blush is?" To which I shook my head. Was I supposed to know what that was? "When someone is embarrassed, their cheeks will heat up. To other people, their cheeks are very red. You cheeks were warm, right?"

I nodded in reply, it made sense. It wasn't too much of a stretch to figure out why I'd never 'blushed' before. There wasn't much to be embarrassed about around mother and father. Just pain and sadness.

Silence consumed the room again, no one seemed quite sure what to say. At this point we were all just standing around, we had been since I'd gotten up from Rima's lap.

Though it wasn't as awkward as before. I didn't feel like I had to stare at the ground anymore and avoid their eyes. So, I looked.

Rima's eyes had shades of blue in them, she was sad about something. Maybe she was thinking about her parents, we had talked about them earlier for a bit. I couldn't really figure out what else she would be sad about.

Tadase had a frown on his face, a dull grey filling his eyes. I hadn't seen this color in someone before. It felt like the blue in Rima's eyes, except stronger. He must have been thinking about something really sad. Yaya had the same color, but she also had a sad smile on her face. Maybe Yaya and Tadase were thinking about similar things. They did grow up together, after all.

Nikaidou, on the other hand, was angry. The deep red hues in his eyes looked as though they could be deadly. I flinched at the sight, but there was nothing between Nikaidou and I. Nothing to stop him from hurting me like I knew he would. He was angry with me, maybe for being so weak. After all, it was my fault that I got raped, because I was so weak. Even if it was my dad and Nikaidou didn't know that, I should have stopped him.

The fear or sadness must have flashed across my face, because Nikaidou seemed to relax. Everyone seemed to relax, actually. It was like for the first time, counting backwards from ten actually worked.

Now they were all watching me curiously, I think I knew how dogs at pet shops felt. That thought made me shift uncomfortably, it was like I was on display.

"Amu," Rima spoke quietly, they had all come to a silent agreement that Rima should be the one to interrogate me. It made sense, she was the closest one to me, and that was saying a lot. Especially considering a few weeks ago I was avoiding her like the Black Death.

"There's something that's bugging me, Amu." Rima said, dragging me out of my thoughts. She looked uncertain, but her eyes sparked with a deep orange. She might be uncertain, but she was definitely curious.

So I nodded slightly, signaling her to go ahead and spill. I was slipping my eye patch back on. I felt much more comfortable with my eye behind it.

"Did you grow up with parents?" Rima's voice blurted out, taking me by surprise. I knew whatever she wanted to know was big, I just hadn't realized it would be that big.

The obvious answer was yes, I had. It wouldn't even be a lie to say that, all she wanted to know was if I had parents. And yet my head tilted to the ground, my expression guarded. At this point, if they saw my expression, they'd piece it all together. Growing up hard lives, you grew up quick. I knew that they would figure it out, after everything else that had been said.

And yet, for some reason, I couldn't remove the expression from my face. Even when I felt a hand beneath my chin, tilting my head up.

It was Nikaidou, and the look on his face said it all. He knew, he had pieced it all together, which wasn't surprising. He was the only one who had seen all the scars, that day long ago at the hospital. And somehow, I couldn't stop the tears that stung my eyes.

I knew it was dumb to cry, it never helped before. I even took most punishments without shedding a single tear. And yet, somehow, the look on Nikaidou's face broke the dam.

Years of pent of frustration, anger, sadness, and fear seemed to all flow out at once, the only escape they seemed to find was my eyes. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop the tremors that racked my body, or the whimpers that escaped my lips.

I don't remember crying so hard in my life, I hated being weak. I couldn't afford to be weak, it just made people angry.

And yet, I'd never felt any safer, as I felt arms warp loosely around me. Nikaidou was doing his best to comfort me, like Rima had done before. And yet, his calming actions only seemed to draw out more of my tears, making him become flustered.

Tadase and Rima both looked uncertain, but I could tell they figured something out, though I wasn't sure what. Yaya had managed to begin crying herself, and was currently burying her face in my back.

"Amu-tan, don't cry. If Amy-tan cries, Yaya will too," Yaya wailed into my back, her cries muffled. If I wasn't so busy crying, I would've busted out laughing.

Somehow though, her words helped my tears to slow. My breath was hitching in my throat, my body shaking like a leaf. Somehow, I'd managed to go from never talking to crying my eyes out and spilling my guts, all in what seemed like a month. When did I become so soft?

"Yaya," I muttered quietly, my voice cracking. "You . . . 're al . . . ready . . . cry . . . ing." I struggled with the sentence, my breath hitching as I spoke.

Everyone laughed at that, even Yaya, though it sounded more like a strangled sob.

Somehow, I had a good feeling. And for the first time in my life, I let myself hope. Hope that these people really would like me, even if I had only told a Partial Truth.

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**Chapter name make sense now? Amu's past will be revealed more in the next chapter, I think. Cause in the next chapter majority of the characters will be in it, so it'll be all good. **

**Anyways, please review thoughts and opinions! Suggestions to the story is always welcomed!**


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